


My Knight with a Shiny Badge

by Emeli_Thorne



Series: My Forever Is Yours [3]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, F/M, Fluff, Nothing major though, Shane worrying about his girl, Tess and Shane flirt, Tess has a thing for deputy Walsh and his body, Tess' friends tease her a lot, description of violence, who wouldn't though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 20:42:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14172993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeli_Thorne/pseuds/Emeli_Thorne
Summary: Tess is out with her friends when she notices a familiar face sitting at the bar.





	My Knight with a Shiny Badge

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt by denimandcabernet over on tumblr: Protective!Shane + bar + physical altercation  
> I know this is not exactly what you wanted, but I hope you'll still like it.
> 
> Timeline: this fic is set about a month after Tess and Shane’s first encounter. I’ll be writing a separate fic about that soon. So far, they’ve only met two times but of course, the chemistry is there.
> 
> This fic got away from me as you can see by the word count, oops!

The bar which Tess often frequents with her friends is packed tonight - more than usual, she would say. Apparently, there was some big game happening tonight so some folks from all over the town gathered there to watch it together. Tess never cared about sports, preferring drama and photography clubs, which is why she doesn’t really understand all that hype around football.

She’s sitting in her usual booth with her three closest friends – Jenny, Helena, and Jodie – drinking lukewarm beer and talking about nothing in particular, when a familiar face at the bar catches her eye. She has to hide her smile in order not to draw suspicion of her friends since she’s not yet ready to admit her crush.

Excusing herself from the table to order another round, she pushes through the raucous crowd, pulling the hem of her dress down and attempting to gain some control over herself.

You see, this man, this _particular_ man, has been on her mind for the past month and had she not been a coward, maybe she would have approached him sooner and spared herself all this darn waiting and pinning after him.

He’s looking damn fine in a black t-shirt and navy cargo pants, his biceps bulging as he holds a glass to his lips and takes a few generous sips. Tess’ cheeks are on fire when her eyes travel from his sharp jawline peppered with slight stubble to his Adam’s apple that’s bobbing with each gulp. Licking her lip, she can’t help but stare, hoping everyone’s too focused on the game to witness her public lusting after King’s County’s deputy.

Anyway, she reaches the bar, leaning her elbows on the counter and ordering another round for her table from the barkeep. Then she casually turns to her left, a big smile on display as she eyes him. She is totally feigning surprise, her grey eyes wide, one hand perched on her hip.

The deputy in question doesn’t seem to notice her, or, he’s feigning like she is by pretending he doesn’t see her standing right there next to him. He’s a damn cop; it’s his job to notice things. Tess could even bet he was aware of the moment she left her table.

“Deputy Walsh,” she starts, her voice slightly breathy, “Didn’t know you frequented this shabby establishment. I thought your kind liked the one across the street.”

She’s teasing, acting too confident when she doesn’t feel like that at all. Deputy Walsh ( _damn, why does the combo of his title and last name sound so erotic to her ears?)_ turns his head to her, a few lines marring his forehead and the space between his eyebrows.

A few strands of his hair sticking in the front have curled and Tess has to clench her fist to prevent herself from reaching up and wrapping her fingers around them. His hair looks really soft and shiny under the dim lights of the bar, that a desire to play with it arises in her instantly.

_Jerk. Why does he have to be this handsome?_

For a second she thinks he’ll be mad at her for teasing him or even offended she dared interrupt his evening, but noting the gleam in his eyes and the quirk of his plushy lips, she knows he’s too good at this game, and way more confident than she is in that moment.

“Well, well, well,” he shifts his body so he’s fully facing her, his taut muscles pulling at his t-shirt, “Miss Hardy, lovely to see you here. And to answer your question, I usually come ‘ere on Fridays,” he delivers this with complete calmness in his tone while Tess thinks her own voice is betraying how affected she is by him.

“Today’s Saturday,” she tells him, lifting her brow and crossing her arms on her chest. He’s full of it, she thinks, but doesn’t say it out loud.

Shane laughs candidly, his joyful laughter ringing out in her ears, his wide smile almost blinding. She’s onto him, he knows it. That’s why his face is beet-red, head bowed and why his finger is tapping against the glass so nervously.

Shane clears his throat, looking bashful even though he’s trying to recover his previous poise. He tells her simply, “I decided to change up my routine,” a corner of his lips quirking up.

 _Yeah, right._ Like she believes him he just _now_ decided to change up that routine.

Taking a seat on a barstool next to him and crossing her legs just ‘cause she can (gloating on the inside when his gaze takes a short appreciative trip up and down her legs), Tess prods his story.

“Oh yeah? And that has nothing to do with the fact I mentioned last week I like to come to this bar on weekends?”

He takes his time answering, his gaze firmly fixed on hers and Tess feels like this is some sort of a staring contest. His eyes are the darkest shade of brown in that moment that she could easily get lost in them, fall into their depths and never come out.

When he finally replies, his voice is gravelly, a hint of smile appearing on his face again as his glances at her lips. “Maybe.”

Tess is speechless, choking on her own spit right now, swallowing lump after lump as she tries to resist the temptation of grabbing him by the shirt, drawing him to her and kissing the hell out of him. Her hands are clammy as she fists them into her dress instead.

_Stupid Shane._

The barkeep saves her from any further embarrassment when he puts a tray with four glasses on the counter and she thanks him, getting the money out of a small pocket on her dress just as Shane waves his hand in a dismissive manner. “I got this.”

Tess is saying no, but Shane already has a bill out of his wallet and is handing it to the barkeep while winking at Tess. It infuriates her, the way he can act so smug and nonchalant.

When she asks him why he paid for their drinks, because she doubts he did it out of the goodness of his heart, his answer surprises her because though it sounds a bit cocky, she can see sincerity in his eyes.

“Just tryna get in your good graces.”

Tess furrows her brows, momentarily confused by his words. Is he that blind not to see she came all the way over here to make a fool of herself in front of him because she already likes him?

Of course, not. No way. He’s Shane Walsh and Tess has been hearing stories about him and his conquests since her high school days. He knows what he’s doing and he’s damn good at it.

She decides to play the game anyway since there’s nothing to lose and this back and forth with him is actually pretty entertaining.

“Well, _deputy_ ,” she stresses the word as she slides off the stool, casually brushing her hand over his, noticing how he bowed his head, regarding her from under his lashes when she called him that, “what if I told you you’re halfway there already?”

_Is this too bold? It’s too bold, right? There’s no going back now, Tess girl. Might as well keep it up._

Shane’s hand is on her wrist, his thumb caressing her pulse point. Tess has no idea how or when that happened. Heat rises in her groin as she stifles a moan because as much as she likes him, she’s not about to let everyone in this damn place know how turned on she is, though she doubts they’d even hear her from their own chatter, cheers, and cussing.

 _Stupid cute Shane_ , she thinks again.

Deputy Walsh leans over, his lips barely brushing the shell of her ear, but Tess groans nonetheless. The jerk must’ve realised this because she feels him smile as he whispers, “I’d say I got no idea how that came to be, but I ain’t complainin’.Would like to stay there, if ya don’t mind.”

Before Tess can answer, still dazed and frozen in place, he retreats back, busying the hand he held hers with with his glass again. She finds she misses the contact, the roughness of his pad against her skin.

“I’mma let you go back to your girlfriends, Miss Hardy,” he says, lifting his glass to point at her friends then gulps down what remains in it. He’s grinning and Tess grins back as she takes the tray off the bar.

“It’s Tess.”

Nodding, Shane tilts his head. “Pretty name for a pretty girl.”

Okay, it’s definitely too hot in this damn bar because Tess wants to rip the dress of her body that feels like it’s constricting every part of her.

“You think I’m pretty?” The words are supposed to sound teasing, but her breathiness gives her away.

Shane’s dead serious when he tells her without a hint of teasing on his part, “I think you’re fuckin’ gorgeous, Tess.”

Her throat is dry, hands sweaty and her skin is burning up. The only thing preventing her from falling right at his feet is common sense, the little that remains in that moment, and the heavy tray in her hands whose weight is grounding her.

Licking her lips, she starts backing away, putting a wide smile on her overheated face. She must look like a lunatic because her whole face hurts from that smile, but she ignores that feeling and winks at him.

“See you around, deputy.”

Chuckling, he winks back. “It’s Shane for you, darlin’.”

 

*      *      *      *      * 

When she comes back to the table, her friends drill her about the man they saw her flirting with. Even though she tells them there is nothing there, Jodie and Jenny, aka JJ, laugh in her face and tell her she is crazy if she indeed thinks so.

“He was eating you up with his eyes, girl,” Helena shouts over the sound of fans cheering, downing her shot as JJ nod in affirmation.

“I barely know him. He’s cute, that’s all.”

“Who you kidding’, girl? Didn’t I see you last week waving to him while you were at the bank and he was entering the station?” Jodie says with a satisfied smirk as the other two girls laugh.

“I was just being polite!” Tess exclaims, her own words sounding stupid to her ears. She’d wish nothing more but to crawl under the table and never come out.

“You were readying that hand for a wave even before he got out of the car. Can’t fool me. You liiiike him,” Helena nudges her with her shoulder as Jenny pokes her cheeks, right where her dimples are.

 _Tessie’s in looove, Tessie likes a boooy_ the three of them sing in unison, stumbling over words but they make Tess smile and suddenly she’s not as embarrassed as she was.

She drinks her beer, laughs with her friends, but here eyes never drift far from the figure at the bar. And if by any chance their gazes meet, the sheer intensity of it lets her know that she indeed feels something real for Shane, crazy as that may sound.

 

*       *       *      *       *

Tess has just left the lady’s room situated at the back of the bar and is heading back to her table while checking her phone, which is why she doesn’t see an inebriated guy stumbling in her direction.

The force of the collision knocks her phone out of her hands and spills the guy’s beer all of his jersey as they both sway, but luckily don’t fall.

Tess immediately starts apologising, trying in vain to wipe the beer stains off the man’s jersey with a paper tissue she finds in her pocket and saying she would pay for his beer and dry cleaning bill.

The guy is not having any of it. He, instead, starts arguing with her, grabbing her by the wrists and shoving her against a wall, spiting curses at her, along with his saliva.

“Bitch! Look what you did!”

His breath smells horrendously and makes her sick instantly, but she has no time to dwell on that.

“I said I’m sorry and that I’m gonna pay for your dry cleaning. There’s no need to get aggressive.”

Tess is trying desperately to send some sort of signal to her friends to let them know what’s going on, but none of them are looking in her direction, and quite frankly, she doubts anyone can see what’s happening in this hallway anyway.

The guy is getting in her face now, keeps shoving her as she tries to free herself from him. Aware that it’s probably more alcohol talking, Tess desperately tries to knock some sense into him, but he’s not backing away.

“Let me go! Let me go!”

Terrified, she starts yelling; her throat already hurts from all the shouting over the noise in the bar tonight, this just irritates her throat more so that her screams are practically inaudible. Everyone’s attention is on the screen that Tess fears what might happen if no one comes to help her because as much as she’s trying, this guy is too drunk and too stubborn to realise what he’s doing.

“Idiot, just let me go, or I swear to god-”

“You bitch, I’mma show you how to be respectful.”

“Get your fucking hands off me!”

He’s about to swing at her when Tess knees him in the groin and rushes to get to her friends but he grabs her by the back of her head and pulls her towards him. Tess screams, the pain immediately starting to radiate through her head as she flails her arms in a fruitless attempt to free herself from his grasp. The man is shouting something, but the pain doesn’t allow her to hear anything except the beating of her own heart and the pain itself. As she uses all the strength she can muster and kicks him in the shin with her heel, he stumbles over, pushing her forward in anger and Tess hits her head against the edge of a table, falling on the floor with a yelp.

The guy’s towering over her now and is about to kick her when someone pulls him off. Through her blurred vision, Tess realises it’s Shane; he’s got his forearm on the guy’s throat and is sporting a menacing expression. He’s struggling against Shane’s hold, but there’s nothing he can do.

“The lady said to let her go. What part of that did you not understand? Let me spell it out for you: come near her again, I’mma hit you so hard you’ll be shittin’ your teeth by mornin’ and I won’t care if you’re drunk ‘r not.”

The incident has finally drawn some attention then. A few men who must be that asshole’s friends appear and start pleading Shane to let him go, apologising for his behaviour and begging Tess, who has yet to completely understand what is happening, not to press charges.

They must know who the man holding their friend is.

“Get that fucker out of here an if I see his mug here ever again-” Shane doesn’t even get to finish his sentence as they nod, shouting apologies and dragging their friend outside while he’s still cussing at Tess.

Shane kneels in front of her, his hands reaching up to cradle her head gently, a worried look in his eyes.

“You okay?” his voice cracks, his thumb stroking her cheekbone.

“I think I banged my head against the table.”

Tess touches the place on her head where she hit against the table and winces, the movement making Shane hold her by the neck to turn her head and see the injury for himself.

Tess yelps, clutching Shane’s arm as a bolt of pain shoots through her.

 “Sorry,” Shane says, his hands now on her face as he examines if she has any scratches or bruises there. “There’s no blood, I guess you’re lucky it’s only a bruise.”

“Idiot, fucking jerk,” Tess cusses as she holds onto Shane and he helps her get up and props her against the wall to rest, then picks up her discarded phone off the floor and hands it to her. Absentmindedly, Tess shoves it in her pocket.

“Now, what kinda language is that, ma’am?”

Tess chuckles and Shane does too, seemingly happy he managed to distract her for a second.

“Thank you, by the way. I tried dealing with it myself-”

“I ain’t doubtin’ it, but this could’ve gone much worse. That asshole’s going to jail the next time I see ‘im. Messin’ with ma girl...” he adds as an afterthought as his fingers curl around Tess’ and she thinks it’s the shock that’s making her hear things.

Confused, she asks, “Your what?”

He looks at her in wonder then, probably realising what he said. Instead of addressing it, he wraps his arm around her waist. “I’mma take you to your table now. Think you can walk?”

Tess nods and Shane leads her to the table where her friends are, all three of them laughing drunkenly at something Helena’s showing them on her phone.

When they see Shane and Tess, all three of them sober up pretty quickly and jump to help Tess. As Tess relates what happened, with an occasional addition to the story from Shane, the girls are up in arms, ready to hunt down the man and beat him up themselves, that Shane has to physically stop them.

Since all four of them had quite a few drinks and Tess was attacked and injured, Shane offers to drive them all home since he only had one drink.

JJ and Helena stumble a little as they’re leaving the club, all three holding onto each other’s arms. Shane has his jacket wrapped around Tess’ shoulders, his hand on her back as he leads them all towards his car parked in front of the bar.

Tess sniffs his jacket and curls deeper into it, letting Shane’s smell envelop her completely. It’s a welcomed comfort after what happened, and it makes her feel closer to him.

 

The three girls are sitting in the back, mumbling something incoherent and tapping Tess’ shoulder every once in awhile to console her. She gives them a forced smile just to ease their worry even though her head is killing her and she wonders if she’ll be able to sleep tonight.

After Shane drops them all off at Helena’s and makes sure they get inside, he’s back in the car, asking Tess for instructions how to get to her place.

It’s a five-minute drive during which Tess dozes off. The sound of the passenger door opening wakes her up and when she looks up, Shane’s offering her his hand and helping her out. Swaying slightly, she grabs Shane’s forearm for support as he murmurs something that sounds like _easy, girl, take it easy_.

He accompanies her to her door, making sure they’re making small steps, probably to prevent Tess from plastering her face all over the concrete.

“Thanks again,” she says tiredly when she unlocks the door and turns to him. “Who knew you’d be savin’ me the second time, deputy?”

Shane has a bashful smile on his face as he looks to the side, tucking his hands in his pants’ pockets. When he sets his eyes on her again, even with the horrible headache she has, Tess can’t help but grin at him widely, wishing these were different circumstances, like them coming back from a date and not from her being physically assaulted and stinking like a damn brewery.

“I think it’s perfectly okay you call me your knight with a shiny badge from now on,” he tells her and Tess has to laugh because he is simply ridiculous.

“My what?”

“You heard me. Or Shane. Both’s fine with me.”

“But you didn’t even use your badge this time,” Tess arches her brow at him, suppressing a grin.

“Don’t matter.”

“I’ll stick with Shane ‘cause I don’t want this new self-given title to go to your head.”

She shrugs off his jacket and hands it to him with great sadness, instantly feeling deprived of the warmth and safety it provided.

Shane stares at her for a moment like he wants to say something, but decides against it and instead just pats her arm. “Have a good night, Tess. And put some ice on that, will you?”

Crossing the threshold, she rolls her eyes at him. “Yes, my sweet knight.”

 

*    *     *     *     *

The next day, Tess wakes up with a mean headache that’s pulsating through her head and when she touches the spot, she feels quite a large bump that’s oversensitive on touch. Hung-over, bruised and smelling like a dumpster, she makes her way to the bathroom to make herself decent.

After taking a shower, which proves to be a much harder task then she thought it would be with her head all banged up but she manages, she puts on some shorts and a t-shirt, then heads to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast.

Her mouth is so dry that drinking three glasses of water does nothing to quench her thirst. She is in no mood to make anything and as she looks around at the mess of clothes and dirty dishes surrounding her, Tess feels worse than when she woke up.

When she finally sits at the table and is about to take a bite of her haphazardly made sandwich, her cell phone rings.

Cursing whomever dared to interrupt her, she goes into her bedroom to retrieve her phone from the dress she wore last night. The number on display is one she’s not familiar with. Debating for a moment whether or not to answer, she does it, laying back on the bed.

“Hello?”

_“Hi, uh, Tess? It’s Shane.”_

Annoyance drains from her body, and all of a sudden she feels elated from just hearing his voice.

But why would he be calling her? And more importantly, where did he get her number?

“Ummm, hi, deputy Walsh. How did you get my number?”

 _“You gave it to me, remember?”_ He waits for a beat then adds, _“When I was takin’ your statement at the motel?”_

She slaps her forehead. “Right, of course.”

_“So, how are you this mornin’?”_

She tells him about her headache and after he asks her if she put some ice on the bruise the night before, she has to laugh at his stern tone. “Yes, sir. Just as you told me to.”

He makes some kind of a sound, then a short silence ensues making Tess think Shane hang up. Just as she’s about to end the call, Shane speaks again.

_“So, uh, I was wonderin’ if you needed anything?”_

“You worried about me, deputy?”

She can’t help her flirty side coming out whenever she speaks to him, it seems to be her default Shane state.

Is she ashamed of it? Maybe she should be. If Shane were any other kind of a man, she’d tame this all down. Since it is Shane, Tess lets herself be playful and giddy with him, hoping there is something real behind it.

 _“If I say yes, will you stop harassing me like that?”_ He sounds exasperated, but she can hear him chuckle.

“Maybe. And, no, I don’t need anything.” Pausing and thinking over in her head, she adds boldly and with hope in her voice, “But I could use some company, if you’re interested. We could watch a movie or something.”

_Maybe this was a step too far too soon..._

_“Um, yeah, yeah. I, uh... I’d like that. When do you want me?”_

Tess can’t help but beam, her headache seemingly gone with his words. She stands up immediately and hastily starts collecting her dirty clothes off the floor. “How about in two hours? My house is a disaster and I have to clean it up.”

He laughs and teases her a bit, claiming he never pegged her for an untidy girl, and Tess awards him with a _fuck you, deputy_ which just makes him laugh even more.

“See you in a bit, Tess.”

Leaning against the wall, Tess stares at the ceiling, wondering what it is with deputy Walsh that has her all flustered and when did she get so ballsy to invite him over after knowing him for barely a month.

One thing she knows for sure is, she can’t wait to see him.

“Bye, deputy.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos and comments, they are the only thing letting me know my fics have readers. Feedback is my lifeline :D 
> 
> you can send me prompts for this 'verse on tumblr or leave them here as comments
> 
> find me on tumblr at lightblindingme


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